


Rogue Destiny

by jhenbeck



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, The Mandalorian (TV)
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Canon Divergence, Female Knights of Ren, Gen, Jedi, Memory Loss, Peril, Platonic Relationships, Pre-Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Rebels, Slow Build, What-If, Whump, identity crisis, mando is the space dad we all love, post-Empire, there's another powerful jedi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-07
Updated: 2021-02-16
Packaged: 2021-03-09 04:27:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 25
Words: 17,320
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27428668
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jhenbeck/pseuds/jhenbeck
Summary: Mando crashes his ship onto a remote desert planet after a skirmish, and struggles to survive the harsh conditions. What he finds there on the planet may be more deadlier than he realized.Kae Soota was abandoned on the planet after being separated from her family. When she meets with the Mandalorian, she seizes her chance to escape.Neither knew the circumstances that brought them together could be so dangerous, as Mando helps Kae discover the truth about her past.
Comments: 16
Kudos: 57





	1. the landing

Angry red beeps blared, filling the cockpit along with the vibrations of the controls. The toggle wasn’t responding to the pilot’s maneuvers, and the buttons would do nothing to save them now.

Mando felt the engine sputter in his seat. He didn’t need to look out the window to check if the orange light still roared. The Crest was careening towards the desert planet before them, its gravity pulling it forward in an unavoidable grasp.

Mando reached up to adjust the landing gear. He’d be lucky if they popped. That battle had ended so badly Mando was almost embarrassed.

He’d gotten distracted. Mandalorians don’t get distracted.

The child whimpered behind him from the pram. Mando tightened his grip on the controls. He couldn’t say anything to make this up. He’d already traumatized the poor kid enough.

Loud bangs jostled the Crest from behind. The bay door was swinging open and shut. In the silence, Mando could almost hear the faint buzzing of the emergency lights in the lower decks.

He felt the shift as soon as it happened. Mando reached back and shut the pram and secured it, so the kid would be safe. The cockpit door was shut, securing what little oxygen they had in the cockpit.

This was going to be a rough landing.

The roar of the gravity kicked in, the Crest barely managing to hold together as the desert planet filled the windows.

Heat filled the cabin as the ship broke the atmosphere. The roaring filled Mando’s ears, and he braced himself as the ship picked up speed, the sandstorms swirling around them, the kid crying behind him--

\---

Kae Soota was just on the last wire of the abandoned battle droid when an enormous impact jostled her grip, and the tiny wire was lost. She swore. She’d just spent the last hour trying to get a good grip on that stupid wire only to have to start over again.

A burst of sand blew into the gaps of her shack of a house. Kae frowned. She’d studied the sandstorms on this pathetic planet for the past four years, and this was different. Sandstorms here only fell on every fifth night because of the storm patterns.

This was definitely different. The wind had been powerful enough to crack her door open. Kae squeezed her eyes shut, and blindly reached for her goggles and sand clothes. Once she was well protected, she headed out into the desert.

And what she saw in the distance made her heart leap, then sink to the ground.

Leaped, because there was a way to get out of here.

Sank, because smoke was coming out of it.

Either way, maybe she had a chance.

“Come on, Q!” she yelled at the shed, where her only companion would be tinkering away.

A refurbished battle droid emerged at the entrance, holding something very similar to a decapitated brother. “What is it?” he called in a metallic voice.

“Look! A ship!” Kae grabbed her staff and began to sprint in the direction of what could very well be her only way home.


	2. the warrior and the child

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Thanks for checking out my work! This story is helping me get out of my writing slump...I swear this story and the Mandalorian new episodes are helping me maintain my sanity during this time.

There wasn’t much left.

Sure, with some time and effort, the ship could be repaired. Maybe even refueled...judging by how much fuel would be leftover from the abandoned ships from the Republican era. 

But still. Not much left.

Half of the ship was crumpled, the cockpit window was shattered, and sand was seeping into the cracks. It could be a new home, if there weren’t any survivors. Judging by Kae and Q’s mechanic skills, there was no way they could rebuild this for themselves. 

_Please let there be survivors._

“Hello?” Kae called. 

She braced herself for any defensive attack. Nothing. She raised her staff and made her way down the sand dune closer to the ship. Coughing in the smoke, Kae hid behind a pile of ripped metal before turning the corner slowly to peer into the docking bay door, which had been busted ajar. Determining that it was safe to enter, Kae stepped into the bay. Boxes were strewn across the floor, and what appeared to be a closet had been strewn open and its contents had been scattered. _Weapons._

Kae hadn’t seen weapons like those since she was a child. Judging from the torpedoes and sheer variety of options to stab someone’s guts out, this was a bounty hunter’s ship.

Hopefully whoever it was wouldn’t want to stab Kae’s guts out. 

Kae halted in her tracks. A faint noise had just come from upstairs. It almost sounded like...someone crying?

“Hello?” 

The crying stopped. After a moment, it resumed again.

Anchoring her staff in her armpit, Kae started up the ladder, and opened the hatch that led to the cockpit. Squeezing past debris that crowded the hallway, Kae made her way to the pilot’s seat. The seat was empty, but the crying was coming from a strange floating sphere. It shook, as if someone was trying to get out.

Kae hesitated, but opened the button.

She sucked in a breath as the sight of a little green wrinkled head with huge ears looked up at her with big black eyes, it’s mouth open in a shriek. She knelt before the pram, and raised her hands. “Shhh, shhh…” Kae pulled her mouth cloth down and peeled off her goggles. She unwrapped the sandcloth from her hands to reveal her deep golden-brown skin, tanned from years in the hot desert sun. The little alien child quieted. “It’s okay. I won’t hurt you.”

Kae surveyed the child. It didn’t seem to be hurt in any way. Whoever the pilot was, they had made sure it was secure in its bed. 

“Hi…” Kae gingerly reached a finger toward the child. It didn’t shrink away or scream. It’s black eyes lingered on it, and met it with its three-fingered hand. It was so small it barely clasped around her finger. “Do you know where the pilot went?”

The small eyes blinked at her, then reached towards the window.

Kae looked up at the shattered window. The buckle in the pilot’s seat had broken, and the way that the glass had broken…

Racing towards the window, Kae leaned on the cockpit to peer over the nose of the ship, which was slowly becoming buried in the sand.

A figure was crumpled almost underneath the ship, clad in shiny armor and a helmet, nearly hiding from view.

“I don’t believe it. A Manduhlorun," she whispered, stumbling over the word.

Sure enough, it was. The beskar armor was unmistakable. Back on her home planet, beskar had been mined and sold for spices. Until her family disappeared, the beskar had almost been their currency. After that...it was to join the Empire or be enslaved as a beskar miner.

She hoisted herself over the controls and out through the window. She slid down the ship’s hull towards the unconscious figure. “Please be alive, please be alive, please be alive…”

He was facedown in the sand. Kae knelt beside him and--with enormous effort-turned him over. He didn’t look too injured, but then again, his armor and clothing didn’t give away very much.

Now, Kae knew two things: One, Mandalorians cannot be seen without a helmet on. Two, they were fearsome warriors. 

But she did not know the third: which was never to approach a Mandalorian unguarded.

A scream rose in her throat as the figure leaped up and raised a blaster in lightning fast speed. But as soon as he moved, he swayed in his spot, and reached to steady himself on the ship.

“Don’t shoot!” Kae raised her hands. _How on earth did he manage to recover so quickly? Maybe it was the beskar that protected him from the crash…_

The Mandalorian sighed, as if realizing that she wasn’t a threat. He took a moment to recover himself, and gazed up at the ship. It was like determination settled on him, and he raced toward the doors and into the cockpit. 

_He’s looking for the kid,_ Kae thought. 

“Uh...hey? Manduhloron?” Kae watched the warrior assess the damage on his ship, pulling boxes out of the way, checking wiring, and testing the controls. As expected, the ship didn’t respond. After a thorough check, he emerged from the ship with the floating pram beside him.

“Where am I?”

His deep voice nearly threw her off her staff. It almost sounded mechanical with his helmet. Maybe he spoke Tusken Raider? “Uh…” Kae began to sign. “You are on planet Scylla. Past the Rishi Maze. Outskirts.” Hopefully he would take the cue. It was so hard to understand what he was saying with that helmet on. Her hearing loss wasn’t making things very easy.

He didn’t answer for a long moment. It was so difficult to determine what he was thinking about with that helmet on. 

“Where is the nearest outpost? Where can I find parts to repair my ship?”

Kae’s stomach lurched. Her grip tightened on her staff. “Nowhere.”

The Mandalorian stared at her. Well, _seemed_ to stare at her, Kae couldn’t exactly see where his eyes were--

“No outposts? No base?”

“There’s one towards the east. Q came from there when he was defective.”

The child let out a whimper. Kae had forgotten he was there. The child looked up at the Mandalorian, a worried wrinkle between his eyes. 

“My home is just a little ways away here. There’s a path between the cliffs and--”

The Mandalorian ignored her and set off in the direction to the east without looking back.


	3. the base

Mando’s head throbbed as he trudged along in the sand. He managed to find a path that led between some cliffs. At least that way he was sheltered from the baking sun. 

A clatter behind him made him pause. Pebbles. Someone was watching them. Judging from the sound, they were stalking him from the tops of the cliffs.

The child babbled. “It’s alright, kid. It’s just the scavenger.”

He continued forward, but he kept his hand on the blaster. He’d had too many encounters with supposed friends who turned their backs on him. He would not make that same mistake again.

Mando could feel the child’s gaze upon him, questioning why he was avoiding the scavenger.

A gaping crack loomed before them in the middle of the path, with what appeared to be debris. A battle had taken place here.

Mando pulled out his blaster and cautiously stepped toward the debris. They were remains of...battle droids. No living thing in sight.

Just around the corner of the cliffs, an abandoned Separatist base was tucked away in an alcove. Machinery and assorted devices were embedded into the cliff walls, and the sun shone onto the white metal. Sand dunes partially covered the entrance.

“Looks like no one’s been here for a long time, kid,” Mando said, tucking away his blaster. The pram hovered along beside him. “Let’s see what we can salvage.”

\----

Kae wasn’t trying to be sneaky. It was just that the Mandalorian was the first living thing she’d seen in four years, and she couldn’t believe it herself.

_My chance!_ The words repeated over and over again in her head. She could get off. She could escape. She could find her family.

She made her way down the side of the cliff as discreetly as possible. Years of climbing these cliffs and the nearest mountain had made her agile and quick. 

The Mandalorian appeared to be scavenging for parts in the old Separatist base. Q had shared with her all of his information about the ancient battles between the Republics and the Separatists. Jedi had fought alongside clones against the battle droids and the Sith. It made Kae wonder what had happened here. Were there any Jedi left after the dreadful Order 66?

Kae shifted forward, and tucked herself behind a stone column. She peered past it at the Mandalorian and the child, as he went in and out of the base, shoving sand and large debris aside. He pushed a few buttons on a device, and groaned in frustration when he realized it was disabled.

Kae knew he wouldn’t find anything here. She’d already scavenged everything that was worthwhile, and used most of it to restore Q and build her home.

The child turned to her in the pram. It smiled, it’s tiny teeth showing. Kae’s stomach lurched, thinking it was going to alert the Mandalorian to her presence, but the child waved its little three-fingered hand without a sound.

Kae waved a finger. At least the child was on good terms with her.

Hopefully the Mandalorian could be too.  
\----


	4. the scavenger

It took several hours for Mando to determine that there wasn’t anything to salvage that would get him off this forsaken planet. Nothing. Not even the discarded battle droids or ancient technology from the Clone Wars. There wasn’t even a single wire.

He knew that the scavenger was watching him the entire time he searched the Separatist base. He wondered if she was a part of a civilization, or she was stranded like him. Either way, it wasn’t his problem. The immediate problem at hand was getting the child off this planet before Moff Gideon’s army found them. If that happened before Mando repaired the ship, they were most certainly defenseless.

Growling in frustration, Mando kicked a battle droid’s head. It smashed on the side of the cliff wall. 

Scuttling from behind informed him that the scavenger was still nearby. The child cooed. He knew she was here too. _No. I’m not going to involve anyone else in this mess._

The scavenger hadn’t looked any more than sixteen or seventeen years old. Mando couldn’t drag her into this mess. He had to get out of here, and soon. If Gideon’s army found them here…

Mando sighed, slipping off his cape and gathering up what useless materials he could possibly use for repairs. When he was done, he slung the sack over his shoulder and headed back to the ship. 

The scavenger shadowed them all the way there, as they emerged out of the rocks and cliffs into the sand dunes. The wind howled, and sand seeped into Mando’s armor. The sun was sinking, and the air was starting to get cold. He dropped the sack of parts in front of the ship, and began to make a to-do list in his head. Engine repair. Wiring. Outer shell repair.

A sneeze behind him made him stop. Mando immediately turned toward the pram, where the child’s eyes were drooping, and his mouth was open as if struggling to breathe. Panic seized Mando, and he pulled off a glove to rest his hand against the child’s forehead. Mando swore and hurried toward the ship and rifled through his supplies. His emergency kit was busted, and the medicine was gone. A burst of rage overtook him, and he hurried down the docking doors.

The scavenger was kneeling beside the child, and handing him something.

“Get away from him!” Mando shouted, pulling out his blaster.

The scavenger didn’t seem to notice. She didn’t move, and proceeded to hand the child a small cup of liquid. Mando raced toward them, but stopped in his tracks. It was the medicine. The scavenger had somehow snuck beside him to get his own medicine, and _then_ snuck back out to give it to the child. 

Mando had to admit, when an expert bounty hunter like himself hadn’t even noticed her move, she had to be good at what she did. 

“There you go. Did the Mandulorun forget to give you some medicine?” she cooed, her accent making it difficult for her to pronounce his name right. The child sucked on the liquid, and began to grow very sleepy.

Mando watched as the scavenger scratched the little creature’s head, and started off into the dunes. 

If she was the one who had scavenged the Separatist base...maybe she was his ticket out of here.

\----

After a restless night of watching over the sick child, Mando started the next morning assessing the damage again, and began to rewire the controls in the cockpit. As he worked, the child slept in the pram behind him, hiccuping every so often. 

He knew the scavenger was nearby by the crunch of sand outside. Mando crouched underneath the controls and began to work on what he could for the engine, but it wouldn’t be easy without…

Without help.

He hated to admit it to himself. He’d been on his own for as long as he could remember. He’d fought off bounties by himself, collected rewards, repaired his ship. But on this forsaken planet, when there was nothing for miles--he’d checked with his long-range scanner--except for one scavenger. 

His stomach growled. He’d have to find food soon somehow, especially for the sick kid. 

Almost as if on cue, a tantalizing smell filled the cockpit. The child instantly cried out in glee. Mando paused in his work and craned his neck. 

A plate of hot food rested in the doorway. 

\----


	5. the instinct

Four days after the Mandalorian crash-landed, it didn’t appear that he was making much progress in repairing his ship. Kae knew that she had the parts he needed, but she felt an urgency to stay away. Thinking about how many weapons he had and his protectiveness over the child, Kae was wary of approaching him. She had a feeling that he wouldn’t accept help so easily. 

But if both of them wanted to get off this planet, they had to work together.

Kae secured her mask and goggles, crouching atop a sand dune above the ship. The Mandalorian was now trying to repair one of the engines. He stuck his hand far into it, but he lost his grip on it and started to fall. 

It was instantaneous. Her instinct to help him took over, and she felt the energy around her. Her eyes closed, and her hand stretched out. 

The Mandalorian yelped, but it was cut short. 

Kae opened her eyes. The Mandalorian was hovering in midair, and slowly lowering to the ground. His body was tense, bracing for the impact that didn’t come.

The child giggled. 

Once the Mandalorian was safely on the ground, Kae slid away from the dune and headed back home.

\----

On the fifth day, Kae knew that she had to warn the Mandalorian. If he cared about the child as she saw he did, he’d _have_ to listen to her. Right?

But Kae couldn’t pluck up the courage to talk to him. _Just talk to him. You did on the first day._

_But he wasn’t as intimidating then._

The internal battle of her thoughts was getting on her nerves. After almost four years of having no one else to talk to, she could feel the crawl of insanity on her mind. At least she had Q, but he was a droid. 

And now the only other living thing--she was sure he was human, she’d seen him take his gloves off--was a Mandalorian who could so much as shoot her and steal her scavenged parts so he could leave.

But after five days of watching him tinker away in the repairs of his ship, she had a feeling he wasn’t that way at all. She’d been bringing him food every day since he’s been here. He wouldn’t know what food was available here. 

He checked on the child so often Kae wondered if the child was the Mandalorian’s own son. But no--there was a different bond than that. The protectiveness came from a sense of duty--they’d known each other for a while. 

And tonight was the sandstorm. She had to tell him.

“I know you’re there.”

Kae cursed. She knew she should’ve picked a different hiding spot today. The sand dune was lower today. The dunes were higher after a sandstorm, and lower right before. 

She peered over the dune. The Mandalorian was standing right at the bottom, the pram hovering beside him. The child smiled up at her. _So he’s feeling better._

Kae moved to stand, and gestured with her staff toward her home. She started off, and soon heard the Mandalorian follow. 

\----


	6. the promise

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Today's a really dreary Monday...so enjoy this chapter over a nice hot cup of coffee. :) 
> 
> Feel free to comment! I love to hear from you guys. Or not. Whatever your heart calls you to do.
> 
> I hope you all are having a good day. If you're not, just remember it's temporary. Watch the Mandalorian again or read more fanfics. I'm currently reading some of POTFFAN's right now!
> 
> I think this is probably one of my favorite chapters so far. Mando and Kae FINALLY have a real convo lol.

Her home appeared to have been remade from an old Republican battleship, with scavenged parts from the base to make a fireplace and heavy walls for protection from the sandstorms.

A battle droid was cooking kaadu meat. When he noticed the scavenger hold the door open for Mando and the child, he squeaked. 

“Oh no. Enemy,” he said flatly.

“Not an enemy. Friend,” she said, waving her hands. “Remember the ship that crashed after the sandstorm?”

The droid didn’t seem to recognize what she was saying. He stared at the two guests for a long moment, before resuming his cooking.

“Don’t mind Q. He doesn’t quite understand. His central processing is kind of fried. As you can see, we don’t have much to repair him with.”

She gestured to the makeshift dining table, which was the frame of a hologram control board she’d ripped off the Separatist base. 

“How long have you been here?” Mando asked.

The scavenger peeled off her cloth mask and goggles, letting short curly hair fall past her shoulders. Her youthful face gazed at him, her expression darkening. “A long time.” She pulled back a cloth that had been covering the wall next to the doorway. 

Mando’s chest tightened as he examined the wall, which had been scored many times over with tally marks. The entire wall was covered, and he could see the end of it on the next wall.

The child cooed.

“There’s a sandstorm tonight,” the scavenger said, resting her satchel and staff on the ground. “It falls on every fifth night. Tomorrow we can rebuild.”

“Rebuild?” Mando echoed.

“Yes.” The scavenger picked up a piece of the kaadu meat. “If we both want to get off this planet, we’ll have to work together.” Her tone was firm, but there seemed to be a hint of nervousness. Mando had to admire her for that.

The usual list of excuses came up in Mando’s mind, _I work alone, I don’t need a scavenger to help, you would be just a burden,_ etc. But this time, he nodded. He wasn’t the same bounty hunter as before he found the child. “It will be a long and painful process,” he warned.

The scavenger shrugged. “We have no shortage of time.”

“Then it is a deal.” Mando glanced over at the child, who was munching happily on a piece of meat. “We rebuild the ship together, and get off together.”

The scavenger unwrapped the sand cloths from her left hand, and held it up, palm facing toward herself. “An oath.”

Mando hesitated.

“Where I come from, this is how we promise. We hold up our left hand, which bears the responsibility of following through. We make the promise to our own hands and to each other.”

Mando nodded respectfully, and removed the glove of his own left hand. He held it up before him, mirroring the scavenger. 

“Do you promise, Manduhloran?”

“I promise. And do you promise, scavenger?”

Her expression darkened, annoyed. “My name is Kae. Kae Soota.”

“Then...Kae Soota, do you promise to uphold our deal?”

She smiled, and it was like the sun lit up in her features. Mando sensed the change in her demeanor. It was like a burden was falling from her shoulders, and relief was overflowing.

“I promise.”

\----

As expected, the storm raged that night. After four years, Kae felt comfortable in her bed and was able to block out the noise of the sand scraping against the exterior metal sheets and whistling winds. 

But from her bedroom, she could detect the unrest in the living room, from the creaking floors. She’d managed to make a sort of cushion on the floor for the Mandalorian from old pillows and blankets she had stored for the colder months.

_Sleeping in all that armor can’t be comfortable,_ Kae thought. At least the child would be fast asleep, tucked away in that pram. 

After almost an hour of jostling around on the makeshift bed, the Mandalorian finally fell asleep. Kae let out a sigh of relief, and turned over to fall asleep--

\--and found the child staring straight at her.

Kae jerked backward, bumping her head on the wall. She cursed. “What are you doing here? I hope you didn’t wake him up!”

The child babbled. It’s small hands reached up to her. It didn’t seem fazed by the howling winds outside. It must’ve come from a planet that had more sandstorms than wherever the Mandalorian came from.

“What do you need? Are you hungry?” Kae asked, sitting up. 

The child continued to reach towards her. If Kae didn’t do something soon, it would wake the restless Mandalorian. She picked up the child, and nestled blankets around him. 

The child almost instantly fell asleep. Surprised, Kae watched the child sleep in her arms. There was something about this child...something that connected them both. Maybe that was why he’d come to her tonight, and why he’d never been scared away from her, even when she was a stranger.

Was she still a stranger? Kae couldn’t determine it. Yes, she’d kind of stalked the visitors ever since they crash landed here, but...she had invited the Mandalorian into her home. They’d made a promise to each other to work together to get off this forsaken planet together. Tomorrow was the start of that promise.

Kae smiled at the sleeping child. She rocked back and forth and began to sing a lullaby from home. 

Tomorrow her life will change for the better.

\----


	7. the chance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hellooooo again....
> 
> I think these beginning chapters are a bit shorter than the later ones, so hopefully each chapter will be enough for a coffee break. :)

On a usual night, Mando would tuck the child into it’s pram, and then take off his helmet and armor to sleep. But in the past week, he hadn’t been granted that luxury. Tension gripped his body every time he laid down to sleep, a buzzing on his skin that made him feel exposed. He couldn’t ever let his guard down, not again. The last time he did resulted in him coming here.

Mando shifted again to his left side. While he didn’t like letting someone else get close to him and the child, he didn’t have a choice. They had to get off this planet before the enemy came and took the child away and murdered the scavenger.

Too much blood was on his hands.

At least tomorrow would be better. He would finally make some progress. He’d been working in circles for the past five days by himself without the parts he needed. With the scavenger’s resources, they stood a chance.

However, there was a small chance that the ship would be weak against any threats that waited for them out in space, but it was still a chance.

Mando sighed, turning onto his back. He listened to the sandstorm grating against the exterior of the ship-turned-house. There was still one problem, though. 

It _had_ to be the scavenger who saved him from falling during repairs. The child hadn’t done it. There hadn’t been any look of concentration on his tiny green face. Whoever this scavenger was...she possessed the same ability as the child.

But if the scavenger was like the child...who were they? Was the scavenger the Jedi he’d been looking for all this time?  
\-----  
As soon as the sand cleared, Mando and Kae set back out to assess the damage that still needed to be undone on the _Crest._

After Kae helped Mando clear out sand from the interior of the ship that had been blown in from the storm, she scanned the interiors. 

“Do you have the parts for it or not?” Mando asked.

“Relax. I’m sure I do. I scavenged a bunch from that Separatist base. We’d have to take apart my house though.”

Mando’s eyebrows raised, surprised at the nonchalance she had in taking apart her home of several years. 

“Shall we?” Kae flexed her fingers.

Mando gazed at the _Crest,_ the house in the distance, at the child watching them from its pram. He turned to the scavenger, and unloaded his weapons from his belt and unlatched the pulse rifle. 

“We shall.”

\----


	8. the memory and the monster

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Good morning!!!! I'm currently sitting by the fire drinking a nice hot cup of coffee. Gonna start working on my bullet journal. 
> 
> Also, have you guys heard of the YouTuber ColeyDoesThings? Her fanfiction videos are absolutely hilarious. They give me life.
> 
> As always, comment! I'd love to hear from you guys. (also, tell me what you're drinking while you read. :) )

Over the next four days, Mando took his time to study the scavenger, hoping for another piece of proof that she possessed the same ability as the child. He would ask her for a wrench or a hydrospanner, and see it move without her touching it. 

She _had_ to be an enemy sorcerer, but she didn’t show any sign of understanding the power the child possessed.

“Why did you end up here?” he asked over dinner after a long day of replacing the hull of the ship with the exterior of Kae’s house. Night noises seeped in through the cracks without the added protection, of animals chittering in the distance.

Kae fingered the cloth wraps on her hands. “It’s all a blur...Sometimes I feel like I can remember everything, but other times...it’s blank. Like I just can’t remember it right.”

“What can you remember?”

“I was separated from my family. The Empire’s stormtroopers were raiding the city, and...well, I’m sure you know the rest.” Kae paused, swallowing. She turned away to fix her hair, pulling it back into a part ponytail. Her next words were quieter. “I can’t remember where I was from. I was sold into slavery. But I...I can’t remember why I came here. I just remember being on a huge ship, with all of the crew dead, charging towards this planet.”

Mando gave a piece of meat to the child, his mind racing to fill in the gaps. _If she was on a huge ship as she said...could it have been a Star Destroyer? If she had been sold into slavery, was it because the Empire found out about her powers? And if it was a Star Destroyer, where is the ship?_

He’d also been wondering what planet she was from. Her hands were callused from four years of work, but it wasn’t from a lifetime, so she wasn’t from Tatooine or any other desert planet. Her curly hair and rounder face seemed more common in the city planets, but her sign language and spoken dialect was unfamiliar to Mando.

He wasn’t in the city planets very much, so she had to be from the bigger cities. Which could pose a problem if he wanted to be undetected.

Mando used the dilemma to fill his mind as he worked on the repairs. They were getting close to being done with the engines. They only had one more day until the sandstorm hit again, and without protection on Kae’s house, they were toast.

“I need to find more parts at the house,” he called to Kae, who removed her goggles from her perch at the hull where she’d been working on the wiring.

“Okay. Tell Q we need more bolts and this type of wire,” She waved a piece of wire. “Also, the shell for the hyperdrive is busted. We’re going to have to find something to replace it unless you’d like to melt when we jump to lightspeed.”

Mando nodded assent and started back towards the house. The dunes had shifted again, becoming more flat as the wind gathered up sand in preparation for the sandstorm. They didn’t have much time. Hopefully the _Crest_ would be ready to fly by then. Thankfully, with Kae’s help, Mando and the child stood a chance. 

Mando stopped in his tracks, his skin tingling. He wasn’t alone.

_Another scavenger? If Kae neglected to inform me of that--_

An ear splitting screech rose behind him, and claws dug into his back, ripping off his jetpack and cape. Mando yelped at the sharp pain as the straps broke loose. He reached for his blaster, but the creature grasped his arm and wrenched it. With his free hand, he began to punch the creature, but it was to no avail.

As he looked up at his attacker, fear seized his limbs.

A bloodsniffer. A desert monster, the size of a small bantha, but heavy with horns and stubby legs. 

It pinned him to the ground with its massive claws, pressing into his beskar armor. Mando heard something snap before he felt the pain in his ribs. Tears stung his eyes. Satisfied that its victim was immobilized, the bloodsniffer’s long tongue began to protrude from its mouth, it’s white eyes blazing down on him. 

Mando strained to kick the creature, but the bloodsniffer was well-known for its deadly agility and quick actions. He stood no chance.

He reached for his pulse rifle, which he saw a few feet away. The tongue was drawing closer and closer--

A burst of light blinded him, and Mando screamed as a burst of electricity jolted through his limbs. His eyesight blurred with the pain and fear. He felt the weight come off of him. The monster was hovering above him, screeching. His body sighed with relief.

He saw another burst of light come from somewhere and hit the creature, and the last thing Mando heard was its dying screeches.

\-----


	9. the interlude

The first thing Mando heard as he ascended to consciousness was a familiar whimper. The depths of confusion and pain still swarmed him, as if he were struggling to swim back to the surface. 

Sensations returned one by one, starting with the smell of burning rubber. Next was the sand below him. 

Voices swirled around him, familiar and unfamiliar. 

A burst of pain seized his chest. He winced, stifling a yelp. The whimpers started up again. His head throbbed, and sparks exploded behind his eyes.

“Munduh!” 

Mando blinked. Gritting his teeth, he propped himself up. The child was next to him with his hand on Mando’s chest. The bloodsniffer laid several yards away with smoke cascading from its limp body.

“Don’t worry, I cooked it real good,” Kae called. She crouched near the body, sucking in deep breaths. She bowed her head and squeezed her eyes shut as if trying to clear her head, and she swayed in her position.

“...Cooked it…?” Mando asked.

“Q! You made it! Get him on the stretcher!”

The droid knelt down beside Mando with a hovering stretcher nearby. Mando accepted the droid’s help, and laid down on the stretcher with the child beside him. 

“Wait! What about her?”

“I have specific instructions from Commander Soota to leave her alone when an episode happens.”

Questions raged in Mando’s mind as the droid escorted him away, leaving Kae still recovering from whatever had happened.

\----

She thought she could control it. 

This hadn’t been the first time she’d killed a monster in this desert. She’d had to rely on her powers in order to save a life. 

_Time’s ticking, Soota._

The sun was setting. They had until tomorrow morning, then the winds would start in the afternoon.

She couldn’t waste time on this. She forced herself to stand, and began an unsteady walk toward her house. 

It wasn’t even her house anymore. Everything that had made it home was gone and packed into the Mandalorian’s ship. The empty shell only had tarp and cloth to cover the roof now. 

Suddenly, her vision flashed with images. Kae stumbled, and tried to blink it away, but the images persisted. Screams filled her head as people died before her...a village...Her own hands...holding a...

“Kae!”

A hand pressed on her back, followed by grunts of pain. 

“It won’t stop…” she hissed, gritting her teeth. “Make it stop…”

The Mandalorian’s voice guided her back to reality. She focused on the beating sun and the sand between her fingers. The strong hand on her back brought her a strange sense of comfort, of safety, of...home.

“Munduh?”

“Come on. Let’s get you inside.”

The two of them stumbled together into the house. Q was ready to help the Mandalorian with his injuries, and a security band.

“What’s that?” the Mandalorian asked.

“It’s to help Commander Soota with her episodes,” the droid said, clasping it onto Kae’s wrist. The sensation of metal squeezing onto her skin brought a sense of comfort. She picked up her canteen and sat on the floor. She rested her head back to lean against the wall as the images faded away and the security band did its job.

\----

Mando waved away Q’s help, and laid on the floor. The child cooed beside him, its worry clear in its expression. 

“How did a bloodsniffer get on this planet? I thought they were only on Kamar,” he asked.

“It must've hooked a ride on a cargo ship, and migrated here,” Kae said. 

Mando struggled to wrap his head around the fact that the deadly bloodsucker inhabited this planet, and that Kae had survived living here for four years.

But now he knew why.

“You’re Jedi, aren’t you?” Mando said. “You can use the...the Force.”

Kae hesitated, squeezing the canteen. “Yeah.”

“Who trained you? Where can I find them?”

Kae opened her mouth to respond, but then a confused expression overtook her face, as if realizing something. “Luke Skywalker. And I don’t know.”

“Is that someone I should know?”

Kae snorted. “Probably not. He’s a part of the Rebellion.”

“I thought you couldn’t remember anything.”

“Hey. I remember stuff.”

Mando sighed. “Kind of hard to keep track.” After a long moment, he pushed himself back up into a sitting position. “We have to keep working.”

“No way!” Kae’s eyes widened. “You have to rest!”

“Unless you’re planning on getting buried in the sand by morning, I suggest you get a move on.” Mando forced himself up, biting back the pain in his chest. 

“No, Munduh!” Kae forced Mando to lay back down on his makeshift bed. “We should rest now. We have a few hours. I don’t want you to exert yourself on my watch!”

Mando paused, touched at Kae’s concern. He nodded, and lay back down. “Only a few hours. It’s the kid’s naptime anyway.”

He closed his eyes, but he could still feel Kae’s watchful gaze upon him.

\----


	10. the oath

“Can you stand?”

Kae nodded. The sun was setting. They had to work and leave now. Mando offered his hand, and helped her up. They started to walk back to the _Crest,_ collecting the remaining supplies and weapons. 

“We’ll have to pressurize the cockpit. We don’t have time to repair the rest. We’ll have to limp to…” Mando paused, realizing just then that he had no plan once they got out of here. He was still on the search for Jedi, but he still had no clue where they were. The Mandalorian coverts that he knew of were destroyed. The child still needed a home. As of now, they were rogues without a destiny.

“Kashyyyk is close. I can see it sometimes just as the sun sets.”

Mando sighed. “I don’t want to deal with Wookiees.”

“Hey.” Kae waved her staff in Mando’s face. “I knew a Wookiee. They’re quite friendly. All you have to do is not mention the Imperials, and they won’t tear your arms off.”

Mando tilted his head as if saying _are you kidding me right now?_ But he didn’t respond, knowing that he didn’t have any other choice. Kamino was not an option. Kashyyyk was their best bet for finding repairs among somewhat friendly company.

He just hoped that the Wookiees wouldn’t be too afraid of two Force-wielders. 

“Hey, be careful. Don’t strain your chest too much. I’m pretty sure you broke a rib.” Kae took the cape-turned-sack from Mando’s hands, and began to haul it over her shoulder. Wiping a black curl from her forehead, Kae headed in the direction of the _Crest._

The child cooed from his pram. 

“Don’t look at me. I didn’t say anything.”

The child giggled.

“Alright, alright…” Mando squatted next to the pram. “I suppose I’m impressed. But don’t tell her I said that.” He pointed a finger. “I mean it.”

The child grabbed his finger and began to suck on it. “Hey. You have your own toys. Are you hungry?” Mando reached for the last box of food and picked out a piece of meat. He gave it to the child, and watched as it nibbled. He sucked in a deep breath, wincing as sharp pain stabbed his chest. He had to find a way to inspect it in privacy. But with the _Crest’s_ only livable area being the cockpit, there would be none until they arrived at Kashyyyk.

The sand abruptly shifted. Mando frowned, and placed a hand on the ground. A rumble. The sand seemed to ripple as the wind picked up. 

Mando gazed at the sun. It was setting. They should have all night to leave. _It’s just a premature storm. A tremor or something._

“Munduh!” Kae screamed. “We have to leave! Now!”

The wind began to blow even harder, and Mando closed the pram. Kae was running from the ship’s direction. “Go! Go now!”

Mando began to gather up the last box of supplies and sprinted to the ship, his beskar armor clanking every so often in his race. 

“I’ll catch up!” Kae yelled as she hurried back to the house. 

The light began to fade quicker as the sandstorm blocked out the rest of the setting sun’s light and the moons. Mando checked behind him to make sure the pram wasn’t being whisked away by the wind, but the child was still with him. If the wind grew stronger, his wristband’s connection might not be strong enough.

With that thought, Mando ran faster, struggling with the box. Finally, _finally,_ he reached the ship. After dropping the box on the second level, he guided the pram up to the cockpit, where he checked to see if it would be pressurized. It was. _Had Kae done this while I was sleeping?_

The child began to wail. 

“Kid, it’s okay!” Mando hurried to the pilot’s seat, and began to push buttons and warm up the engine. He glanced back at the left engine, then the right. They both rumbled orange, glowing among the sandstorm.

Mando leaned over the control panel to look out the window. There didn’t seem to be any sign of the scavenger’s beacon.

_What’s taking her so long?_

The memory of the promise they’d made four days ago tugged at his mind. Left hand facing toward himself. The oath. 

_“We make the promise to our own hands and to each other.”_

Feeling a strong sense of deja vu, Mando powered down the engines and raced out of the cockpit, grabbing his pulse rifle on the way out.

\-----


	11. the storm

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It might be a little bit slow with updates from now on. I've been needing to do a ton of screen time for homework and work, so it's not very good for me to spend more time on it. 
> 
> Anyway, enjoy the chapter!

The brown tidal wave surged into the second level as Mando opened the bay door. Snapping a metal lock on the ship’s interior, Mando secured a rope on it and attached the other end to his holster. Grabbing the brightest beacon he could find, Mando headed into the storm.

His visibility dropped to zero as soon as he stepped off the bay door. His beskar armor vibrated with the constant impact of sand. The howling filled his ears. 

“Kae!” he yelled, but his voice was lost. 

A shadow came towards him, and Mando ducked at the last second as a large metal sheet sailed over him. His chest screamed at the sudden movement. 

Kae’s house was blowing apart.

Mando deflected debris with his free arm as more parts flew in his direction. 

A faint light flitted in the distance. Kae’s beacon.

Mando hurried over, but the rope went taut. The beacon was just a few feet away, beside a figure half-buried in the sand.

Mando unlatched the rope from his holster, and held it tight in his hand while reaching for the figure. His fingers brushed the back of Kae’s shirt, and yanked. His arms burned with lumbering   
effort in pulling her out of the sand under the thrashing winds. He tried to shut out the pain in his ribs, but it demanded his full attention.

“Save…Commander…” A metallic voice screeched.

The battle droid blinked feebly a few feet away. It looked like a piece of debris had smashed its central processor, most likely the one that had knocked Kae out.

“They need her--” Its voice faded, and the droid was gone.

Mando pulled Kae towards him, and managed to swing her onto his shoulder one-handed. His knees buckled from the pain. He reattached the rope to his holster, and followed the rope back to the ship, straining to use it to pull himself through the winds that were growing stronger by the minute.

Finally, the ship was in sight. The _Crest’s_ interior lights blinked in the storm, guiding Mando. 

A stronger surge overtook him, and he nearly lost his grip on the rope. Kae slipped from his shoulder and tumbled to the ground. Bracing himself against the winds, Mando scooped her up and bent double to hurry towards the ship. Sand seeped into his helmet, sticking to the tears that streamed down his cheeks.

The ship was now within reach. Mando hauled Kae up into the docking bay, and yanked the excess rope inside. He set her down, and fell against a button. The bay door slowly closed, and Mando breathed a sigh of relief when the winds ceased. The ship still rocked in its place from the outside winds and there was piles of sand on the second level, but they were safe. 

Panting, Mando knelt beside Kae. Blood was seeping into her sand cloth from a wound on her forehead. He bowed his head, trying to find a grip on the pain. His muscles ached. 

Upstairs, the child cried out. 

Mando gritted his teeth as he scooped Kae up once again, and climbed up the ladder with her over his shoulder, slowly and painfully. Once they were in the cockpit, Mando buckled Kae into the passenger seat, and collapsed into the pilot seat. He allowed himself a moment to breathe, before tackling the controls and starting up the engine.

\----

Fog swirled around Kae’s mind, along with the faint noise of someone crying. The sensation of her stomach plummeting roused her to consciousness, but the world was still blurry.

Stars.

Kae gasped, her hand reaching upward. So many stars, swirling around her…

The view shifted as the ship turned, and the planet Scylla appeared at her right. The rumbling of the weak ship echoed in her ears as the _Crest_ made its way to safety. 

Kae felt like crying or laughing or screaming. Scylla was disappearing behind them. 

Never to be seen again.

\-----


	12. the warriors

“I don’t have an Imperial beacon. This is a neutral ship. Look up my code.”

Mando rested his helmet on his hand as the translator spoke Wookiee to the sentry over the comms. The ship still hovered in space, surrounded by Wookiee fighters, waiting for the command to shoot or grant entry. Mando sincerely hoped it was the latter. 

_“He would like to know if you possess any weapons or firepower.”_

Mando cursed. He raised his hands to the controls, ready to seek other options.

Kae suddenly appeared beside him and shoved her hand on top of his, raising a finger to her lips. She leaned forward to the comms, and started to make strange growling noises. 

Amazed, Mando watched Kae hold a full-on conversation with the sentry over the comms, smiling. She then switched off the comms and the fighters flew away.

“Docking bay 13 in the northeast quadrant,” she said, plopping back down into her seat.

“You speak Wookiee?”

“You’re welcome.”

Mando stared at her, and shook his head.

The ship sailed down into the clear atmosphere. Trees rose up to meet them, surrounding them with greenery. Mando felt a sudden pang in his chest, unrelated to his fractured rib. It felt so similar to Sorgan Mando almost felt like he was returning home.

The _Crest_ unsteadily approached the docking bay, which was constructed entirely of tree trunks and flimsy rope. A pair of Wookiees waited, armed and ready. They backed away as the rickety ship hovered above the landing pad, then collapsed with an earth-shaking crash, blowing the surrounding trees backward.

Mando and Kae jostled in their seats, nearly falling to the ground. Spiderweb fractures exploded across the window. Once the dust settled and the trees stilled, Mando exchanged glances with Kae, whose sheepish smile was more like a grimace. 

They opened the pram, where the child snored softly in the blankets. Mando shook his head.

“Wow. He slept through the whole thing,” Kae scoffed. 

“The kid’s got skills, I’ll say that.” Mando shut the pram, and reconnected it with his wristband. They headed down the ladder and down the bay door.

The Wookiee sentries weren’t alone. A crowd of warriors had formed and had their crossbows raised. Mando raised a hand to block Kae. 

“No, it’s okay. I can talk with them.” Kae brushed his hand away, and stepped forward with her hands up. She began to speak Wookiee.

One of the warriors stepped forward, the only one wearing shoulder pads with what appeared to be badges or medals of honor. He bared his teeth, and waved his paws. After a moment, he pointed at Mando and began to growl more aggressively.

Kae shook her head. 

After a few minutes of conversation, the pram vibrated as the child awoke. Mando knelt down beside it, and opened it. 

Instantly the crowd tensed. The Wookiee talking with Kae cut off mid-growl. He stepped forward towards the child. Mando lunged in front of the child, hand hovering over his blaster.

“No wait--” Kae shouted.

The Wookiee mirrored Mando, and raised his crossbow, yelling something at his fellow warriors.

Mando felt something brush against his hand, but there was nothing. It seized him, and forced his arm to cross over his heart. His eyes widened beneath the helmet. He couldn’t move. _What is happening?_

“Stop!”

Kae held her hands up in defense, but there was a slight twitch in her eyebrow. Mando struggled against the invisible grip, but it was too strong for him to break free. 

“Munduh,” Kae panted. “We are not here to antagonize them. They know a friend of mine, Chewbacca. Please relax. We need their help.”

Mando hesitated, but he had no choice but to trust her. He nodded.

The invisible grip disappeared, and they both relaxed.

The Wookiee spoke.

“He said his name is Tarfful, and his warriors are willing to help repair your ship,” Kae translated. “They are doing it as a favor to an old friend.”

Tarfful bowed his head, but Mando noticed he wasn’t bowing to him in particular. 

The child giggled in response, and waved his little three-fingered hand.

\-----


	13. turning

After clearing out the _Crest_ of their belongings, Mando and Kae settled into the guest rooms in a hut not far from the city. They had a view of the pure white beach, where several young played in the shallow waves.

Mando hovered in the doorway to the balcony, where the child wandered along the roped railing, poking his head between the gaps.

“I hope you’re not pretending you’re not injured anymore.”

Kae appeared beside him, watching the child as well. She had bathed and tied her hair into a crown braid. One short curl poked out the back. She also wore fresh clothing gifted from the female Wookiees, clothing that would’ve made her suited to be a bounty hunter.

“It was nice of the queen to lend us this hut. We don’t need to bother them any more,” Mando said.

Kae opened her mouth to retort, but thought better of it. “Right. The helmet thing.”

“There is no ‘helmet thing,’” Mando insisted, irritated. “It’s a creed.”

“A creed? I thought it was a personal choice or something.”

Mando fought back a scoff. “The Mandalorians value their privacy. It’s a religion, passed down from foundling to foundling.”

“So you’ve…” Kae seemed to struggle to find the words. “You’ve never shown your face...to anyone?”

Mando sucked in a breath, remembering the one time he almost did with Omera. He’d let his guard down so easily then. He’d been in a sanctuary, in a life that could’ve been his. The chance to live that life had slipped through his fingers so easily.

_Could I ever have that chance again?_

“No. Not since I was very young.”

The child was distracted by a bright purple frog hopping onto the balcony. He began to sneak up to it.

“My father used to tell me stories about the Mandalorians,” Kae said softly. “I never imagined that I would meet one.”

Mando turned to her, his attention away from the child. “Your father knew about the Mandalorians?”

“Yes.” Kae frowned. “Yes, he did. I remember...I remember the night I was taken, he gave me…” She blinked, and looked at her hands. “I don’t remember.” 

“What happened, Kae?” Mando asked gently, very aware that her mind could easily be closed off. There was something interfering with her memory.

_Or someone._

“Where are you from?”

“Alderaan.” Kae rubbed her temples. “Wow, I can barely remember what it looks like. I can’t wait to go back home again.”

Mando closed his eyes, his chest beginning to ache again. “Kae.”

“Yeah?”

Mando stepped closer. “Alderaan is...It was destroyed.”

Kae blinked. “What?”

“It’s gone. It was destroyed ten years ago, by the Empire.”

Kae stumbled backward, and Mando reached out to steady her. “No.”

“I’m sorry, Kae--”

Kae shoved him away, and hurried back into the hut. Mando stood there, guilt and pain crashing down on him as he listened to the front door bang shut.

\---

_No. No._

Kae barely paid attention to her surroundings as she veered deeper and deeper into the forest. Away from the Mandalorian. Away from what she just learned. Away, away, away.

The trees grew taller and darker the further she ran. She jumped over logs and dodged low-hanging bushes and branches. 

She tried not to think. She physically turned her head away from the fact, trying to avoid it screaming in her mind. 

Alderaan was destroyed.

Kae’s foot caught on a tree root, and she fell forward. Pain shot up the palms of her hands into her shoulder blades. She lay there, trying to catch her breath.

There was no avoiding the second thought that accompanied the first.

If Alderaan was destroyed, then her family…

Kae let out a whimper, and let it draw out into a scream. She could vaguely feel the energy radiating from her, her burning hands, the life-force draining...draining…

She screamed until her voice went hoarse. Exhausted, she collapsed to the ground.

Her eyes started to drift close, but they caught onto something that shook her to her core. She forced herself up.

Within a ten-foot radius around her, the vegetation had wilted.

\----


	14. the sense

Mando winced at the dark purple blotches across his chest. The last 24 hours hadn’t done any good for his injuries. He could tell that his breathing was starting to be affected, because every time he inhaled, pain would stab his sternum.

He sighed, and splashed his face with the basin of cold water. Thankfully the guest house was built for guests of all species, so the bathroom provided privacy and plumbing. 

He slowly wrapped a bandage around his chest to provide more support for his chest. Hopefully it could heal soon. He had an ugly feeling that the child and Kae weren’t safe yet.

After getting dressed and putting his armor back on again, Mando headed out to the balcony. The child was now chasing after its fourth frog, its mouth open and tongue sticking out in anticipation.

“Naptime, kid.” Mando bent down to pick him up, but the child slipped away, crawling to the opposite side of the balcony. “Really?” Mando hustled over, but the child escaped again, still chasing a purple frog. After a third try, Mando strained to catch his breath, resting his hands on his hips. Child-rearing was more difficult than he’d expected, that was for sure.

The child seemed to sense Mando’s discomfort, and stopped chasing the frog. He cooed, and came over to hug Mando’s boot.

“I think it’s naptime for both of us,” Mando sighed, wincing as he bent down to pick up the child, and carried him over to the provided cradle. He began to rock back and forth in his arms. The big black eyes gazed up at him, reaching for his helmet.

Mando knew that the child wondered what he looked like underneath the helmet. But if he removed it in front of him...the attachment might become too fierce. There was no going back if he did that. 

It was the same with Omera. Maybe someday...once he and the child were free from the looming threat of Moff Gideon and Kae found her place.

Wherever that was. 

The child snored softly, and Mando gently placed him into the cradle. Tiredness soon overtook him, and he lay down on the bed.

The fatigue tugged at his vision, easily pulling him into sleep.

The fever crashed down soon after.

\----

Sweat plastered to Kae’s brow as she stumbled through the woods. The sun was setting. 

Something felt different about the Force within her. Before it had felt like an old friend. Now…

She held out her shaking hands, and studied the dark skin. _Focus._

Kae couldn’t lose her head now. 

She wasn’t the only one who had lost everything. Everyone, everyone in the galaxy had lost everything because of the cursed Empire. 

_You are not the only victim._

Kae stopped in her tracks, realizing that she was hopelessly lost. Amazing. She found herself in a clearing, with a small contraption that almost looked like a landing platform. 

A growl behind her made her jump back, raising her hands to protect herself.

Tarfful emerged from the trees, raising his paws.

“Oh. Sorry. I didn’t hear you come.” Kae relaxed, and turned back to the landing platform.

“You found where our old friend left,” Tarfful said in Wookiee.

“Your old friend?”

“Yes. Your friend too. Yoda.”

“Yoda…” Kae remembered that name. Luke Skywalker must’ve mentioned him… “Wait. My friend too?”

“He knew the ways of the Force. He is connected to your little one.”

Kae blinked. “The child?”

“Yes. The Force flows through the little one. It flows through you too.”

Kae knelt down beside the landing platform. It looked like a small ship had taken off here. It hadn’t been used in years, judging from the vines clawing over it.

A shriek alerted her. Tarfful whipped around.

The child was crawling out of the bushes, eyes slitted in distress, his tiny mouth open in a cry. 

“Wha--How did you--” Kae’s blood went cold. “If you’re here, then--”

Something shifted in the Force. An uneasy sensation. Kae picked up the child. “I sense it too.”

“Go,” Tarfful growled. “But be careful.”

“Careful? Careful of what?”

Tarfful pointed a claw at her heart. “Careful of this.”

Kae backed away, confusion dawning upon her. Part of her needed to stay, and demand what Tarfful meant, but the other part needed to go to her friend.

The child shrieked again.

“I...I’ll go to him,” Kae assured him, and began to run in the direction of the hut, following her senses. 

She knew the way now.

\----


	15. the sickness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> hello.
> 
> ....
> 
> that is all

He was absolutely still when she reached the room. The sun had set, casting weak shadows across the floor. Kae placed the child in the crib, and hurried over to the Mandalorian lying on the bed.

“Munduh?” She shook him gently. “Can you hear me?” She reached for his hand, and removed the glove. 

Heat.

“How did you get so sick?” Kae squeaked. “Munduh! Wake up!” She cursed. “What am I supposed to do?” 

_Water._ She hurried into the bathroom and filled the wooden pitcher provided. She brought it over to the bed--

_Stupid. Stupid. Stupid._

“How am I supposed to treat you if you have your helmet on?”

After thinking for a moment, Kae threw up her hands. “Well.” She closed her eyes, and reached for the Mandalorian’s helmet. With much effort, she helped him sit up, and managed to drizzle some water down his throat. Water sloshed everywhere, but eventually, she tipped the pitcher at his lips. She heard him swallow, and put the helmet back on. “That’s one way to do it.”

As the sun disappeared behind the trees, Kae worked by candlelight to take off the Mandalorian’s other armor and his poorly applied bandages to inspect his broken ribs.

She recoiled at the bruises stretching across his chest, and resisted the urge to vomit. “Okay, uh...how could he have gotten sick from a broken rib?” she murmured to herself. “Broken ribs exerts pressure on the chest...which is where the lungs are...pressure on the lungs? Could that cause an infection?”

A small squeak alerted her to the child. He’d snuck from the crib onto the bed. “How did you…?”

The child began to rest its hands on Mando’s exposed chest, a determined expression on its tiny green face. Kae frowned, tilting her head. Frozen to the spot, she watched as a miracle was performed before her eyes.

The bruises faded, the Mandalorian’s breathing eased, and within moments, he seemed like himself again, but his skin was still flushed.

“How did you…?” Kae started again, but shook her head. “I don’t understand how you did that, but from the looks of it--” Kae checked the Mandalorian’s temperature. “--he’s still sick.” She flexed her fingers. “It’s gonna be a long night.”

\-----

The morning sun streamed in through his visor, filtered by the heavy helmet. Mando blinked awake, yawning. He braced himself to push himself up--

Mando stilled. He’d been expecting pain to flare up when he sat up, but nothing came.

He reached for his chest. Alarm bells rang in his head in the absence of the beskar. He felt exposed with just his undershirt.

A dark curly head rested on the edge of the bed, sleeping soundly. Kae. And in her lap, curled up in the folds of her oversized cloak, was the child snoring softly.

Mando felt something in his chest that felt like it would burst. It wasn’t comfort or content, exactly. It was...happiness.

It vanished as soon as he saw the tears streaming down Kae’s cheeks.

\-----


	16. the longing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yo that latest episode though..........

“Focus, young Padawan! Focus!”

Kae whirled around, trying to catch sight of her invisible enemy while navigating the field. Branches and roots swirled around her, and Kae resisted the urge to slice them right through with her yellow lightsaber. 

She’d had this dream before. Only it wasn’t a dream, exactly. It was a memory.

A memory she always longed to relive over and over again.

Her Master’s voice boomed from above her. “Do you think the enemy will wait for you to come back to your senses?” he snapped.

“I’m sorry, Master!” Kae called up to him, and launched into the fray. Stormtroopers popped out from behind trees left and right, and Kae swung her lightsaber to deflect the lasers. 

She strained to hear where the enemy stepped, but she turned the wrong way and earned a narrow miss on her arm. Stinging, Kae backed away.

 _When your ears fail you, use what you do have,_ Luke had told her. 

Kae felt her mind clear. She wouldn’t let her disability hold her back.

 _Sight._ The slight rustling of branches.

 _Smell._ The metallic tang of smoke from the stormtroopers’ blasters. 

_Touch._ The shift in the Force. The stormtroopers were trying to sneak up to her. Their tension was so thick she could taste it. She could feel their pulse rising. 

There.

Kae whipped out her lightsaber and sliced the blasters in half and cut into the pair of stormtroopers. 

When she’d finished the simulation, the stormtroopers blinked away. Holograms. Her Master jumped from the treetops, landing nimbly despite his age.

“You seem distracted today.”

Air rushed out of Kae’s lungs as she looked up at her master. It had been so long. So long.

Luke Skywalker gazed at her thoughtfully. “I sense your longing, young Padawan. What do you long for?”

Kae’s eyes burned, but she tightened her jaw to fight back the emotions. Jedi weren’t supposed to be blinded by emotions.

“I miss them,” Kae heard herself say. She felt herself detach from her body, as if she were watching herself from above. She was watching the memory unfold before her.

Luke Skywalker closed his eyes, and bowed his head. “I understand your pain, Kae.” He met her eyes. “But we must learn to let go.”

 _Let go?_ Kae heard the scream inside her head. The anguish radiated from her, and Luke immediately detected it.

“Be careful, Kae,” he warned. “You must trust in your instincts. Remember why you chose your saber tone. Rely on your pursuit. Do not follow in the footsteps of my father.”

“Your father?”

“Yes.”

Kae tried to convey an image of her own father. Dark curly hair just like hers...a hand giving her something before she was taken away from him. But when she tried to imagine his face, all she could see was Luke’s.

Rustling from behind alerted Kae. She whirled around and pulled out her lightsaber, but before she could activate it, Luke put a hand on her shoulder. 

“Peace. It’s just your peers.”

But Kae was still on edge as the other Padawans appeared from the bushes and joined her and Luke. One face stood out among the rest as vaguely familiar. Kae sensed the connection that Luke felt when he saw his nephew. _What was his name?_ Her chest burned with jealousy.

Kae felt her senses diminish one by one. She grabbed Luke’s arm. “Wait! Where can I find you? Where can I go?”

Luke broke his gaze from his nephew and smiled, but his eyes were sad. “We must learn to let go.”

“No. You promised you would protect me!” Kae cried. “Why aren’t you fighting for me?” But Luke’s face vanished into the depths of her longing.

\-----


	17. the key

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh hi. congratulations for being a wonderful human.
> 
> that is all lol.

Mando set down the last box of supplies into the _Crest’s_ lower hangar. He let out a deep sigh, feeling relief wash over him.

It had been two days since he’d recovered from his injuries and illness. Two days since Kae changed.

Mando gazed at the scavenger. She’d dressed into his own spare clothes, an oversize jumper with a heavy shawl. She stood at the edge of the landing platform, watching the trees as if waiting for something.

Mando wondered if Kae’s memories were returning. It would explain why she was so sad. _She had a dream as she was watching over me..._

He exchanged glances with the child, who cooed sadly.

“I know you’re worried,” Mando said softly. _I am too._

Mando walked down the docking bay door to join the group of Wookiees come to see them off. “Thank you,” he said, nodding to each of them.

The Wookiee called Tarfful nodded back. He growled in response.

Kae rejoined them, smiling at Tarfful, but it vanished almost instantly.

“Do you know where I can find more of my kind, or of the Jedi?” Mando asked.

Tarfful nodded, and spoke with Kae for a few moments.

“He said that he can direct us to the Rebel base, and that they would know where to direct you next,” she said.

Tarfful growled again, and Kae sucked in a sharp breath.

“What is it?”

“I can’t tell you where the Rebel base is,” Kae said.

Mando stared at her. “You--”

“I can’t explain.” Kae averted her eyes. “We should leave.”

Mando thanked the Wookiees once more and headed into the ship, the child’s pram following him inside and into the cockpit. Within moments, they had taken off and headed into the stars.

Once they were settled into the seats, Mando turned on the scavenger. “My mission is to deliver the child to the Jedi. The Rebels are now my key to that. I assume the Luke Skywalker that you know is with them. Explain.”

Kae shook her head, almost childish. 

Under normal circumstances, Mando would pull his blaster out and threaten her. However, Kae wasn’t an enemy. She was his only way to succeeding at his mission. “Please.”

“I can’t.”

“Then give me a reason why.”

“I...I don’t know.”

Frustration boiled in the pit of Mando’s stomach, but he forced it down. Before he could shout things he would regret, Mando left the ship on autopilot and headed down into the second level. 

He began to open their boxes of supplies and belongings, hunting for something, anything that would give him a clue of where to go next. He had to start somewhere. Nevarro? No. It was too far. He wouldn’t make it without avoiding contact with the Empire or the New Republic. 

It was then that he saw it.

Mando stared at the contents of Kae’s box. He was aware of footsteps joining him, but he didn’t care. He whirled around and pulled the blaster.

Kae was bouncing the child in her arms. Her smile vanished at the sight of the blaster.

“Give him to me. Now.”

Without hesitation, Kae held the child out, and Mando nearly yanked the child out of her arms. Kae raised her hands. “Munduh. What’s going on?” Her voice shook.

“Who are you?” Mando didn’t hold back the bitterness in his tone.

Kae’s eyes darted to the opened box. “I can explain.”

“Then explain. I will give you ten seconds.”

She swallowed. “I know what it looks like, but I’m not Empire. Not anymore.”

“Then what’s with the uniform?”

“I don’t know. All I remember is that I landed on Scylla with that uniform on. Everyone else was dead--”

“Imperials or rebels?”

“I-I don’t know. I can’t remember.”

Mando cocked the blaster. The child whimpered.

“I swear I can’t!”

Mando held her at gunpoint a few moments more, then lowered it. Kae was a defenseless teenager, except for that staff and...

And the Force. 

She didn’t have anyone except him.

Mando began to realize that he knew absolutely nothing about the person he rescued from Scylla. He felt the presence of the Empire commander uniform in the box as if it were a living thing, waiting to strike him at his weakest.

\----


	18. green light

Neither of them spoke as they floated aimlessly through space. Kashyyyk disappeared into the stars, but the further away they soared, the more anxious Mando became.

He fidgeted with the controls, his mind scrambling for a plan. He was a Mandalorian. They were always prepared for anything.

But he’d never been prepared for this. Needing information from a source he couldn’t bring himself to threaten.

 _It’s because of everything you and her have gone through, Din,_ he told himself. _She cared for you when you were sick. You saved her from a lifetime of loneliness on Scylla._

But that was before he knew who Kae really was. 

The enemy. She had been the Commander on the side of Moff Gideon himself. 

_Is this why she can’t go back to the Rebels?_

A loud screech nearly ruptured his eardrums, yanking his attention away from his thoughts. A ship appeared in front of the windshield. 

“It can’t be,” Kae whispered from behind him.

“Hang on!” Mando yelled, his arm reaching out for the child in the pram, his other hand forcing the controller forward. The Crest dived, spinning to try to shake off the fighter.

But if Mando knew anything about TIE fighters, is that they never came alone. 

It happened within moments. Barely enough time for Mando to suck in a breath or reach for the child.

His arm had just barely reached for the child when the green light exploded in the windshield, and the shields were broken through. 

Glass shattered across the windshield. Mando felt the fight leave him as his body began to hover above the seat and the oxygen was sucked out.

His breath left him, and that was when the enemy struck.

The silence felt like a vacuum, sucking him inside. He felt the faint brush of debris clanking against his armor, but the sound was lost to the emptiness of space.

\-----  
Kae only had seconds. Seconds.

_Save him now. Now._

Seconds.

A breath in time. 

Her hand reached out, moving too slowly.

_Now._

She felt the brush of her companion’s cloak, and gripped it tightly.

And reached, reached, _reached._

_Help us._

Light. The rumble of a ship.

Kae didn’t dare open her eyes, but she knew help was coming.

Their fight wasn’t over yet. 

\----


	19. the loss

Mando woke with a loud gasp, feeling his lungs expand, and contract, expand, and contract. 

He coughed violently, and began to make sense of his surroundings. He was in the medbay of what appeared to be a large ship, judging from the amount of available beds.

_The child._

“No.” _Where is he?_ The room was empty.

“Good. You’re awa--”

Seizing the healer’s arm, Mando yanked him forward and twisted his arm behind his back. The healer yelped.

“Where. Is. The child?”

“I-I don’t know! Please! We saved you!”

Mando froze at the high-pitched voice. The healer was young. He couldn’t have graduated from school too long ago. He must’ve joined the New Republic only recently. Sixteen or seventeen.

The same age as Kae.

Mando let him go. The healer backed away, trembling.

“Where is Kae?”

“Uh--what?”

“The girl. If you found me...where is she?”

“Oh. The…” The healer cleared his throat. He scratched his cheek. “The Imperial. She’s in the detention blo--”

Mando shoved past him before he could finish. The healer called out after him, but Mando managed to evade his attempts to restrain him.

Several Rebel workers scuttled out of his path as Mando hunted for the nearest control panel, but a pair of security guards blocked his way.

“The Admiral has been waiting for you. Come with us, please. Oh, we unarmed you,” one of them added when Mando instinctively reached for his belt.

Seeing no other option, Mando followed the guards to the navigation room, where engineers studied holograms and control boards. The window revealed a rust-orange planet coming into view, accompanied by several other New Republican ships. 

He assessed his chances. At least twenty workers. Without his weapons, he would be gunned down in seconds. He wouldn’t even make it to the doors to run to the detention blocks.

“Where are we?” Mando asked.

The Admiral looked up, and a look of satisfaction crossed over his face. “Safe. We’re just approaching Bespin.”

“What happened to my ship?”

“Beamed into bay 95. It is safe, though my men are working hard on the repairs. Apparently you’re not very popular with the Empire, since they decided to use their dreadnought’s weaponry to annihilate your ship,” the Admiral said nonchalantly.

“You have to think of me as naive to not notice your own dreadnoughts,” Mando said, nodding at the window. “From the looks of it, they’re stolen Imperial ships, restored by Bespin.”

Everyone in the room stared at him in shock, except for the Admiral, who smirked. “Very perceptive, Mandalorian. But that’s not why I called you here.”

Mando tilted his head. 

“You have valuable information on the Outer Rim, information that only a local could gain. We need a skilled bounty hunter such as yourself, to land upon the Imperial-owned Baogo and pass on the plans. This is under-the-counter, and we cannot alert any Imperials in the area to the Republic’s presence...which I’m sure you deal with every day.”

“I’m not looking to be enlisted,” Mando growled.

“No, I’m sure you are not.” The Admiral stepped closer. Mando’s skin prickled. “However, if your friend is of any value to you, I suggest you follow through on this offer. After this, you are free to go.”

 _The child?_ “If you have brought any harm to him--”

“Oh no. It’s a female. Your...daughter, perhaps?”

Mando clenched his fists, feeling his knees weaken ever so slightly. _Be careful, Din. You’re not on their side, either._

 _But the child…? Where is he?_ Mando strained to keep the panic out of his voice as he responded. “Release her. I need her as my co-pilot.”

\----


	20. the co-pilot

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi.
> 
> thanks to ~depression~ i was really behind lollll
> 
> my process has been writing several chapters ahead of publishing them. rn i think i'm at like chapter 27 or so. i'm hoping to finish it soon. 
> 
> here's chapter 20 and don't forget to drink something warm with it in these dark days :)

Mando felt a surge of relief as the hatch slid open and Kae appeared in the docking bay, escorted by two cadets. 

It had taken some convincing on Mando’s part for Kae to come with him. However, the Admiral had seemed to believe that Kae had no memory of being an Empire commander.

This was their chance to escape, and they had to take it.

The cadets removed Kae’s shackles, and shoved her forward. Kae hung her head and joined Mando at the ship’s entrance.

“Where is he?” Mando hissed at Kae, leering over her. 

He felt only slightly guilty at snapping at her when she was so disheveled, with sections of her hair in her face and dark circles under her eyes. Her skin had paled, as if she was fading. But the problem remained at hand.

“They took him,” Kae gasped, voice breaking. “I felt them. I saw Moff Gideon fly over and take him. Just...just seconds after they shot us.”

“How did we…” Mando glanced at the cadets. They tensed, and backed away as if sensing his unpleasant glare. “Did you save us?” he asked Kae.

Kae gazed up at him, fear filling her expression. “I couldn’t let you die.”

\----

“The source’s name is Tei Ha,” Mando told Kae as they departed the ship and stepped into the night air. Baogo was insufferably humid, but after years of bounty hunting in numerous systems for Mando, and years in the desert for Kae, they welcomed the heat. 

Kae pulled on the shawl she’d found in the _Crest’s_ storage. At first glance, Mando thought Kae could’ve passed for a bounty hunter with her weapons belt and visor.   
“Do we know anything about him?” she asked.

“Not enough. Just that he deals in weapons supply for both sides. We’ll be looking for Imperial crests.”

“Isn’t that cheating?”

“It’s not if both sides win.”

Kae let out a long sigh. “Politics.”

They threw a tip at the guard on duty, and headed into the narrow streets of Baogo’s underworld markets. 

“Stay close,” Mando warned. “Our arrival would have attracted a lot of attention. Pull up your hood and cover your face. We must stay discreet.”

“Munduh, why did the Rebels let me go?”

Mando dodged a low-hanging pipe and wove through the crowd, making sure Kae was close beside him. He took her arm and pulled her into an alcove surrounded by stray wires and metal crates. He began to rifle through his compartments on his arms and legs, preparing the whistling birds and flamethrowers. He expected to get into a skirmish.

“Munduh?”

“I made a deal with them. They apparently are desperate to pass on this information,” He held up the small chip. Kae’s eyes followed it as he tucked it into his belt.

“Aren’t you curious what’s on it?”

“No.” Mando sighed. “Look, we pass it on, they tell us where to find the child, and we leave. No need to go any further into this mess the Rebels have gotten themselves into.”

“What mess? Munduh, how do you--”

“Enough questions!” Mando snapped. Kae shrank away. He closed his eyes, trying to relieve the tension in his chest. He felt the urge to check over his shoulder, to check the pram that had always followed him everywhere, with the small green baby looking up at him with bright black eyes.

_Wherever I go, he goes._

But there was no pram, and the child was missing.

Something caught his eye down the narrow walkway, next to the entrance of the local cantina. “I think we’ve found them,” Mando said, gazing at the Imperial crest on the boxes.

\-----


	21. the interrogation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello again
> 
> so that episode destroyed me
> 
> please comment i check ao3 every day to hear from u guys
> 
> doesn't have to be about the work it's not that great i don't blame u lol
> 
> christmas is less than one week awayyyyy yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

Mando and Kae separated once they stepped into the cantina. Better to approach the source solo.

Mando panned the room, getting a feel for the crowd. There were several people at the bar, not too many in the booths or gambling.

A green-skinned Twi’lek leaned back in a booth, his arm around a pretty female, laughing loudly. He sat across from a Dug, and they were conversing over a gambling table. He waved his other arm, calling for another round. There. On his wrist was a black band with two silver crests. One Imperial, the other Rebel.

Perfect.

Mando approached the Twi’lek. “I’m looking for Tei Ha,” he said.

“If you’re looking for Tei Ha, I’m afraid you’re too late. He’s already gone and made a deal in the seventh quadrant. But you’ve come to the right place...Mando. Isn’t that your cute little nickname Or have you decided to reveal your name yet?”

Recognizing the silky voice at once, Mando waved the female away from the booth. She pouted, but complied.

“If you’re looking for Tei Ha, I deal with him personally.”

“How can I trust you, Leep?”

“You can’t.” The Twi’lek and the Dug burst out into raucous laughter. 

“Then I’ll pass it on to you...only if you tell me where I can find Moff Gideon.”

The Dug spat out his spotchka, and began to shout in Huttese.

Leep raised a hand. “Relax. I’m sure he’s drank too much.”

Mando tilted his head.

Leep leaned forward. “No way. Seriously? It’s suicide!”

“No questions. Are you going to help me or not?”

Just then, Mando sensed a presence beside him, but he didn’t turn to see who it was. Leep looked up, and snorted.

“Did you need some emotional support, Mando? Your bounty hunting getting you lonely after killing so many people?”

Mando’s hand reached for his blaster. He would do it. He would return to his murderous ways if it meant getting the child back.

But Kae stepped forward. “You will tell us where to find him,” she said.

“Little girl, nothing will make me--”

“You _will_ tell us where to find him,” Kae repeated, her voice shifting.

Mando gazed at Leep, watching his expression change. In all his years of bounty hunting, he’d never seen a Jedi in action. The unknown sent chills down his spine.

“He’s...he’s in the Middle Rim. Just past the ruins of Alderaan. He’s been at a space station working on...some sort of experiment.”

Mando felt Kae tense beside him. _Stay calm,_ he told her silently.

Leep blinked, as if breaking out of trance. His demeanor immediately shifted to his usual boisterous self.

“Well, aren’t you a sight to see,” Leep flirted.

Mando’s hand shifted to his blaster, feeling a surge of rage boil within him. “Watch yourself,” he growled.

“Is she yours, Mando? For a little fun?” Leep taunted, all signs of Jedi influence gone.

Mando stood up, reaching for his blaster--

“No, wait.” Kae’s voice was meek, and her hand looked dwarfish among Mando’s beskar armor. He hadn’t noticed how small she was among the other bounty hunters and smugglers in the cantina. It was like she’d shrunken further into herself, her confidence waning among the crowds.

He felt compassion for her, and knew she felt the same for him. 

“I’ll meet you at the ship,” she said, backing away and disappearing into the crowd. Leep watched her go with clear disappointment on his face.

“I was gonna ask, Mando...rumor has it that the Empire deserter is on the loose,” the Twi’lek sniggered, taking another chug of spotchka. “Interested in delivering me another bounty, Mando?”

“Ayy, maybe they’ll fetch me a nice price on the market,” the Dug said, throwing chips onto the gambling table. He didn’t seem fazed at all by Kae’s ability. She must’ve influenced him too. “‘Eard about the deserter trying to play along with the Rebels, but then they found out and cast ‘er out.”

Mando leaned forward. “If you’re going to waste my time in pitiful nonsense, Leep, maybe I should leave.”

“Hey, hey, no rush.” Leep raised his hands. “I’ll tell you. If you can find that deserter for me.”

Mando suppressed a snort. Leep had no idea he’d already told him and Kae. She must be more powerful than he thought. “What value could an Empire deserter bring to you?” Mando couldn’t resist asking. “The Empire’s dead, Leep.”

“Oh, is it now?” A dangerous smile tugged at Leep’s lips. “Didn’t seem to be the case last time I checked.”

\----


	22. hunted

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> happy holidays everyone!

Luke Skywalker knew it was time.

He’d anticipated it for weeks now, ever since the Mandalorian found the former apprentice. 

All the pain and guilt of the past four years had escalated as Luke struggled with the guilt. He had so much to bear, so much responsibility, so much to carry by himself.

But now there was a role to play, and Kae needed to remember. She had to help her companion, and save the child’s life.

It was time for Kae to remember.

\-----

It didn’t take long for the group of former Rebels she’d noticed in the crowd to notice her.

They recognized her immediately, and Kae knew she had no escape, not with the narrow walls and the incognito demeanor she was trying to give off.

She sped up her pace anyway, trying to keep her hood tight around her. If she could just reach the ship...

Someone grabbed her arm and whisked her out of the crowd and into the nearest alley, out of sight, out of safety.

Kae forced her screams to die in her throat. _Don’t let them see your weakness._ The former Rebels threw her forward, sending her crashing into barrels full of spotchka. The blue liquid leaked out and spilled onto her head, mingling with fresh cuts.

“I know who you are.” Faces blurred before her eyes. The leader of the group squatted before her and grasped her hair. Pain shot through her scalp. “How does it feel? Do you feel like you’re at the end of your rope yet?”

Something shiny flew in front of her. Rings. She felt the impact before the pain. Fire burst along her right cheek, and tears stung her eyes. 

“What do you think they felt?” the leader whispered icily. “Do you think they felt this before you killed them?”

 _Who?_ Kae wanted to scream. _Who did I kill?_

“You dared to fake being a Rebel!” one of the others yelled, soon joined by the rest.

Another impact. This time, the fire burst on her left cheek.

Kae tried to focus on the energy at her fingertips. _Save me,_ she begged it. _Save me._ But it was gone, used up. She’d used all her energy to influence the Twi’lek.

The crowd grew closer, shadows mingling with the light, calling her a worthless Imperial, deserter, coward. Blood dripped onto her sleeve. The droplet looked like the sun from Scylla among her sandwraps.

The chorus of kicking and berating began. Air rushed out of her every time a blow landed on her stomach. With every blow, a painful memory burst in her mind like fireworks.

_“Get out.”_

_“We don’t want an ex-Empire here.”_

_“Cast the traitor out!”_

_“Kill her now!”_

Flashes of light burst from behind her eyelids. The kicking stopped. Through the haze of blood and agony, Kae detected the sound of blasters. Someone grunted. A crash. 

Kae squeezed her eyes closed, and tried to get her bearings. She pressed her hand into the cement below her, feeling something hot and sticky. She pushed herself up, her back screaming.

The skirmish around her ceased until there was only the sound of hissing of the pipes and steam overhead. 

“Enough dancing around,” the familiar voice said.

Kae’s arms shook as she forced herself to sit up. Fighting back a whimper, she sat back against the wall. “I was a Commander,” she whispered. She spat out blood. “A Commander of the Empire.”

The blaster cocked. 

“Then I escaped.” She wheezed. “I escaped when I found out who I really was.” She looked up at the Mandalorian. “A Mandalorian descendant.”

The blaster lowered.

“I know what Moff Gideon is after,” Kae insisted, her cheeks stinging. “He wants the Force, Munduh. He’s going to harvest the midichlorians from the child.”

The Mandalorian looked away. His hand shook.

“Please, Munduh. I can still help you. I remember now. He’ll be on Starkiller Base.”

“Starkiller Base?” The Mandalorian repeated.

“Yes. The Empire is rebuilding again.” Kae coughed, and more blood spattered on the pavement. “They won’t go down without a fight. And I fear that with the child’s powers, they will be around much, much longer.”

The Mandalorian took a long moment. He gazed out at the streets, and sucked in a shuddering breath. 

“You have to know, Munduh,” Kae said, bracing herself to stand. “I wasn’t forced into being the Commander. They couldn’t make me decide. I decided for myself.” She sucked in a breath, wincing as she did so. “I alone decided to make the first kill.”

“Why?” The Mandalorian’s voice sounded more and more distorted. The distance grew between them. He was farther away from her than she’d ever thought possible.

Kae was a stranger to the Mandalorian now.

“You have to know,” Kae repeated, feeling the words echo over and over inside her head. She stumbled back to her knees. “It was like the course was already charted for me. I felt like I was doing the right thing. And now I know. The course led me to you, and to your child.”

The Mandalorian stiffened at her last two words.

“Please, Munduh. Let me help you. I care about him too.”

His bounty hunter demeanor immediately kicked in. “What could you possibly know? You are the enemy. You know absolutely nothing about us.”

Kae crawled towards him, feeling shame wash over her body. She felt naked and vulnerable. She was literally putting her life into his hands, feeling the value of her life grew more and more dim by the second. “I know what they’re doing on Starkiller Base,” she whispered. “I know where they’ll take him.”

\-----


	23. the memories

Luke felt the burden ease. Trying to avoid his sister and Han’s worried gazes, Luke sat down at their conference table. He allowed himself a moment to close his eyes.

He knew Kae was strong enough to take it upon herself. He believed in her completely.

Her destiny had gone rogue. Her path was unclear, but clear at the same time.

\----

Kae shrieked, her hands flying to her head. The Mandalorian immediately turned to her, catching her as she collapsed to the ground. His voice rumbled in her ear. She heard his voice, and tried to grasp on it with everything she had. 

The voice she’d listened closely to for the past weeks. Deep and comforting, like a blanket she could wrap herself in and stay in it forever.

She let herself drown in the Mandalorian’s voice and embrace, as the images flashed in her mind. 

\----

Her body shook. Her throat burned. Her chest ached, lungs straining to inhale.

This was a feeling Kae was not a stranger to.

Terror.

A slit of light broke through the grooves in the closet door of her childhood bedroom. Hands clasped tight around her stuffed toy porg, Kae squinted through the gaps. Figures passed by the hidden door, hunting through her toys and clothes.

This was the first time she’d ever seen stormtroopers.

She could hear her parents crying, begging for mercy in the next room. Offering a trade. Services. Anything.

She clutched the object her father gave her before he joined his wife to meet the stormtroopers. 

“Your bloodline flows in you now. This is the way, my little Kaefire. This is the weapon of your people.”

Kae squeezed her grip on the weapon, willing it to obey her commands. 

The blaster fire was sudden and sharp, and Kae forced her cries to die in her throat.

She let herself fall into the terror as the stormtroopers rifled through her home, tearing apart everything she knew, everything her parents worked for. 

The terror became a living thing inside her, something that made her ignite the weapon.

The black blade stretched out before her, impaling the stormtrooper’s heart.

\----

Then her vision changed, and the familiar presence of Master Luke was nearby. A sense of calm overtook her, and she felt safe. Secure. She was home.

“Reach out,” he said.

Kae saw the darkness of her eyelids, and felt the wind around her, smelling the salty seas. Where was she? 

“What do you see?”

There was the energy, the energy that she’d always felt all her life. Ever since she was a child bouncing in her father’s lap. The Force had always been there.

“Life. Balance. Peace.”

“Yes,” Luke said, satisfied. “You understand why the Jedi exist. We are here as peacekeepers. To keep the balance in the Force.”

“There’s something else…”

Tension flared in Luke’s presence. “Be careful, Kae.”

“I can feel it. How do I stop it, Master?”

“Resist! Resist the temptation!” Luke’s voice became more panicked.

“How?” Kae’s voice rose, mirroring her Master’s anxiety. She could feel the cold grip of the darkness wrapping around her chest, her body, her soul. It wouldn’t let go. So cold...so hateful…

It would follow her wherever she went.

\----

The vision changed, and fear seized her body. She trembled, trying to shield herself. Shield from what?

Slowly, Kae made sense of her surroundings. A cell. Everything was too hazy to make out, but she knew that this was a time before she met Master Luke. Before she snuck away during a raid and stole an Imperial ship and overrode the codes so she could escape the planet. Before she hid away her Imperial uniform and took on a new identity as a Jedi apprentice. Before she found the hope that rested with the Rebels. 

This was a time of fear, hurt, anger, and depression that she hoped she’d never have to relive again.

The door to her cell slid open, and the eerie expression of Moff Gideon appeared. He wore his usual Moff uniform, but the long black cape sent daggers through her heart.

She would recognize that cape anywhere. The very same material and glossy hem was the work of her own mother, with fine thread rare to her home planet. It would be difficult to notice from a distance, but with a closer look, one would see tiny designs on the hems.

Moff Gideon was wearing her father’s cape.

Kae realized what the haze that made it difficult for her to detect her surroundings meant.

Pain. Her body was anticipating it with dread so cold it felt like she was trapped in ice.

His cold voice cleared some of the haze. “She’s ready. Bring her in.”

Hands grasped her arms, and Kae’s limp body dragged between them as the stormtroopers yanked her out into the hall. After a series of turns, the stormtroopers hauled her onto a stone table, where they clasped her limbs. They retreated, and scientists quickly took their place. She was in a lab.

At the moment, Kae’s hearing hadn’t been able to pick up Moff Gideon’s next words, but watching the vision she understood clearly.

“Don’t take it too far this time,” Moff Gideon’s cold voice echoed in the chamber. “I need her to lead a raid in three days.”

The scientists nodded, and Moff Gideon watched from a distance as they began to set up tools in the lab. “Running diagnostics check. Ready for testing. Start experiment 445 on subject two.”

Too busy processing these words, Kae didn’t notice the pain until it flooded her system and the world went black.

\----


	24. acceptance

“So can I see the chip now?”

Mando sighed, and tossed it to her before returning to his work on the Crest’s repairs and diagnostics check. From the corner of his eye, he watched as Kae opened one of the boxes and found her old holoscanner, plugging in the chip. Just hours before, she’d been in a frenzy, reliving horrible memories. Something or someone had unlocked them. She’d refused to share with him, but Mando knew enough. She was an ex-Imperial. That alone was a heavy burden to bear.

A hologram popped up with a diagram. “It looks like...some sort of map,” Kae announced to the Mandalorian.

“Close it.” He checked their surroundings, but they were alone in the docking bay. 

“I still can’t believe that you didn’t follow through on your agreement.”

“You thought wrong. I am neither Rebel or Empire or whatever you call yourselves.”

Kae winced, and turned back to the map.

Mando watched the young girl that had so easily made her way into his life. She’d been lost, and alone, just like the child. He’d taken the child in to find it a home. Wherever that was.

But if he failed with the child, how could he help Kae? How could he help her when he could barely help himself?

“Munduh.”

Mando looked up from the hot circuit he was trying desperately to solve. Kae’s eyes widened at the holographic map before her. He remembered that look. That was the look where she felt like she’d solved everything.

“This is it. This is exactly what we need!” Kae hissed, trying to keep her voice down. There were smugglers just outside the hangar who would do anything to steal the Crest from them. 

“What is?” Mando struggled to follow along.

“How to get onto Starkiller Base, Munduh. How we can save the kid.”

\----

The ship landed with a little more force than necessary, but Mando couldn’t help it. He was nervous, tense, terrified. His mission was more important now. It wasn’t just finding a home for the child now. The child’s life completely depended on him now.

“Where are we?” Kae asked as Mando began to head out into the desert.

“Nevarro. We’re here to get help from some old friends.”

“Wait, Munduh.”

Something in Kae's voice made Mando halt. He gazed at the crumbling archway of Cara Dune’s city. Nostalgia flooded through him. The last time he’d set foot here, the child was safe in his arms, and their future had looked so much brighter.

He turned.

Kae sucked in a breath. Her gaze was lowered, as if afraid to look at his eyes. She’d rebraided her hair, and the long twine rested on her back now. Goggles rested on her forehead, and the shawl blew in the gentle breeze.

“Are you going to turn me in?”

Shocked, Mando said nothing.

“I mean, when we get to Starkiller Base. You know who I am, and what I’ve done. I just need to know.” Kae stood straighter, tensing her jaw. “I’ll accept whatever it is you want me to do.”

Mando didn’t reply for a long moment. He watched the sand and dust fly over the wastelands, feeling chills. The task before them would be excruciatingly difficult.

It was true that Mando’s perception of the teenage girl had been violently shaken, so much so that he felt he couldn’t look at her the same way anymore. She had been a part of the Empire. She had been a killer.

But every time he looked at her, Mando was reminded in some way of the child. The little baby who’d stolen his beskar-covered heart. 

She was just like him. They both chose to turn away from their murderous ways.

“No.”

The tone of finality surprised the scavenger. “You-you’re not turning me in?”

“We don’t have much time. But from what you’ve said, the journey and the rescue itself will be difficult. I need your word that you’ll stand by me.”

The surprise faded, and an intense look of determination crossed over the scavenger’s face.

“I’ll stand by you, whatever it takes,” Kae said. “To the end.”

\-----


	25. the bounty hunter and the scavenger

“And how in blasted Darth Vader’s name did you find those plans?”

Mando glanced at Kae before turning back to the controls. “Stole them from the Alliance.”

“In case you haven’t forgotten, I used to be a Rebel. So that lie doesn’t work with me.” Cara Dune leaned in the passenger seat. “They don’t just give out plans like that.”

Mando chose his words carefully as he watched the stars zoom past in light speed. There were only a few moments to spare before they landed at light speed. “The Alliance’s hands aren’t as clean as they make themselves out to be.”

He glanced at Kae again in the co-pilot seat. She seemed to be trying to maintain composure. 

The screens blinked a warning. Mando tightened his grip on the handle bars, feeling the markings on the little ball that the child loved so much.

“Brace yourselves.” Mando’s stomach plummeted as the stars disappeared and the wintry storms of Starkiller Base appeared. Snow buffeted them on all sides and the Crest smashed into the trees. Splinters crashed onto the windshield. Kae let out a shriek. Cara Dune lurched forward. Mando yanked the controls as far back as he could without breaking it. 

Finally, the commotion stopped.

“Was this part of the plan?!” Greef Karga yelled from the lower level. “My seatbelt’s busted, thanks to you!”

“You’re worried about the seatbelt?” Cara Dune yelled back. “Didn’t you just fall down the ladder?!”

Kae let out a sigh of relief. “Nice landing, Munduh.”

Mando held out a scolding finger. “I don’t appreciate that sarcasm.”

But Kae smirked as she helped Cara Dune pull Greef Karga back into the top level, where they ran over the plan once again.

\----

“You sure you can trust her?” Cara Dune asked Mando as they loaded up on weapons in the Crest. “We’re in enemy territory now, which apparently she’s a part of, according to you.” She cocked a blaster rifle, and raised it to her eye, calibrating the viewfinder. 

Snow blew into the docking bay door and melted at Mando’s feet. The snowstorm was like the sand on Scylla, never ceasing and just as deadly. 

Kae was running over the holographic map they’d stolen with Greef Karga, her sand scarves barely holding against the harsh snow. Ice formed on her goggles and cheeks. Mando could already see frost forming on his visor, but it was more protective than Kae’s clothing. 

“We’d better get moving. They’ll notice the smooth landing soon enough,” Cara Dune said, joining the others.

Mando paused at the top of the bay door. Cara Dune and Greef Kargo started arguing about what path was best to take to the nearest outpost. Apparently their time as leaders of Nevarro together did a number on their professional relationship.

Kae’s stature was much smaller than her companions. She was almost a foot shorter than the former Rebel. Her youthful features looked almost babyish compared to Cara Dune and Greef Karga’s. She looked dwarfish compared to the trees, the ship, the planet, the war. A child heading into war, just like he had been.

Mando joined them, satisfied with the weapons he’d chosen, though he wished that he could’ve provided Kae with some sort of armor. 

Kae gazed up and smiled half-heartedly. “We’ll have to split up. If I’m going to the control room, you all can’t come. We’ll communicate by comlink.”

“Kae--”

“It’ll be a long way, but keep me posted.” Kae squinted at the holographic map. “It looks like we landed in sector four. Thankfully not too far from the planet’s belt. Don’t go anywhere near the core, though. That’s where it’s heavily guarded. If you go there, there’s almost no way you can get out.” 

She began to run toward the trees. 

“Wait, Kae!”

Kae stopped, and turned.

Mando hesitated, feeling an urge to say or do something.

Her expression softened. She smiled, and gave him a little wave. Almost like a teenager heading off to school.

“It’s on you now, Munduh,” Kae said. “Bring your child to the destiny he was meant to have.”

Then she disappeared into the trees, and she was gone.

\-----


End file.
